Wataniya Q1 profit increase to $1 bn (Kuwait)
Wataniya Telecom posted an increase in its Q1 net profits. The net profit soared to US$1.03 billion, from US$58.79 million in the year ago period, after the company increased its stake mobile operator Tunisiana.
According to company’s spokesperson net profit includes a fair value gain of US$563.63 million recorded due to revaluation of its existing interest in Tunisiana following the increase in the shareholding from 50% to 75%.
Qtel and Tunisian investment firm Princesse Holding in November last year stated that they would pay Orascom Telecom US$1.2 billion for its 50% stake in its Tunisian unit. Qtel made the acquisition through Wataniya Telecom, of which it is the majority owner. Stripping out the Tunisiana revaluation, Wataniya’s first-quarter net profit amounted to US$21.76 million, a 21% increase on the same quarter in 2010.
Nokia appoints Farrell as GM for Lower Gulf
Nokia has announces that appointed Tom Farrell as general manager for Nokia Lower Gulf, a region including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
Farrell has been with Nokia for seven years in various roles, most recently leading the services sales and delivery team for Nokia’s Ovi services.
Prior to that, he worked within the Nokia marketing organization and in strategy and business development. Farrell started his career at Accenture.
CGC gives away airline tickets with Nokia handsets (Qatar)
Consolidated Gulf Cooperation (CGC) has partnered with Qatar Airways to offer up to 15,000 Qmiles to Nokia customers.
As per the limited promotion, customers purchasing the Nokia N8 at US$695.15, C7 at US$549.25 and E72 at US$480.56 will earn 15,000 Qmiles which is enough to redeem a return Economy Class ticket on Qatar Airways from Doha to various destinations including Amman, Damascus, Delhi, Dhaka, Islamabad, Jeddah, Karachi, Khartoum, Lahore, Mashad, Peshawar, Tehran and Sanaa.
In addition, customers purchasing the Nokia C6, E5, Nokia 5235 and Nokia 5233 earn 6,000 Qmiles which enables them to redeem a return Economy Class ticket to various Gulf destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Dammam, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat or Riyadh. This offer is available while stocks last or until 30 April at all CGC Nokia showrooms and selected dealer outlets across the country.
Salamfone rolls out Sharia-compliant mobile services (Malaysia)
Salamfone has rolled out Sharia-compliant mobile services in Malaysia. As per reports, the company is a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Reach Telecom and has introduced services as an MVNO on Maxis’ mobile network.
Top-ups for the prepaid services are available at 7-11 outlets, Shell stations, and ATMS of several banks. According to Salamfone’s Chief Executive Officer, Kamshul Kasim, the company will aggressively market services in four key markets, namely Kedah, Perlis, Terengganu, and Kelantan as these states have the highest concentration of Muslim residents in Malaysia.
Kuwaiti bourse halts Zain share trading
The Kuwaiti bourse has halted trading in shares of telecoms firm Zain pending clarification of reports that its plans to sell a stake in Zain Saudi Arabia. Plans have been shelved due to the political turmoil in the region.
Zain had issued a statement stating that it has signed a term sheet agreement to sell its 25% in Zain Saudi to Kingdom Holding and Batelco. The term sheet is in line with the deal first announced on 13th March.
Zain stated that the term sheet was entered into for “clarification purposes only” and that it would update the market later on about any further developments.
Zain Kuwait launches eeZee unlimited calls
Zain Kuwait has launched eeZee unlimited Calls, its latest eeZee product that lets prepaid customers make unlimited voice and video calls on its local network.
A KWD 1.25 subscription allows the customer unlimited on-net calls and video calls for one day on the Zain network. Every customer selecting the KWD 5 subscription can enjoy these benefits for one week, while the KWD 17 subscription allows unlimited use for a month.
To benefit from this offering, prepaid customers simply need to send a SMS containing the letter “C” to 999.
Etisalat drops $122 mn bid for Syrian mobile license (UAE)
Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) has stated that Etisalat has dropped its plans to bid for Syria’s third mobile licence, in the latest blow to the firm’s drive to expand its Middle East footprint.
According to MEED, the UAE Company is not happy with the 25% revenue share demanded by Syria. Etisalat was not immediately available for comment. The bid would have been worth a minimum of $122 million.
The Syrian government has stated that five bidders – Etisalat, France Telecom, Qatar Telecom, Turkcell and Saudi Telecom — have qualified for the license auction. Bids are due April 12.
Syria has been crippled by growing political unrest recently in which more than 60 people have been killed so far.
This deal would have given Etisalat a presence in Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan.
The former monopoly already operates in 18 countries, including Saudi Arabia, India and Egypt.
Saudi Telecom Selects JDSU for IPTV Monitoring Solution
After evaluating a number of competitive bids, Saudi Telecom (STC) has selected JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU) (TSX: JDU) to provide a comprehensive IPTV end-to-end service assurance solution. The solution will give STC the visibility to proactively detect and resolve IPTV service and network quality issues which will help speed repair times and ensure higher Quality-of-Service (QoS) for subscribers.
The JDSU IPTV solution was also selected by STC for its ability to effectively reduce the complexity involved in assuring IPTV service end-to-end. The solution consolidates all troubleshooting software and hardware elements and offers an easy to access, efficient view of key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify service-affecting issues throughout the entire IPTV network.
“As we face high expectations for delivering quality IPTV services, we saw the need for a much more comprehensive test and measurement solution to help keep customer satisfaction high while also reducing operational costs,” said Eng. Maziad Al-Harbi, STC general manager, Network Services Solutions. “JDSU’s IPTV solution was a winning combination — including JDSU’s successful IPTV installations, flexibility, intimate knowledge of video MPEG protocol, strong OSS experience and consultancy expertise.”
“With more consumers switching to IP-based television and video on demand, expectations for quality are higher than ever,” said Tom Smith, senior vice president in JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement business segment. “JDSU is proud to provide an IPTV solution that combines effective scalability and exceptional quality of service to STC at this exciting stage of their IPTV service launch.”
The solution for STC is comprised of several products/services:
• JDSU NetComplete® Home Performance Management (PM) – enables multi-play service providers to extend their service assurance capabilities into the home providing full Quality-of-Service (QoS) and Quality-of-Experience (QoE) reporting independent of access technologies used. NetComplete Home PM uses a standards-based methodology which enables flexibility, scalability and manageability of the solution.
• JDSU MVP-200 – monitors all programs simultaneously, without scanning, and allows engineers to perform detailed troubleshooting of a selected stream or program without any interruption to monitoring.
• The Observer RPM 400 (by Volicon) – eliminates manual, visual channel inspections, which are typically an expensive and time-consuming task. Observer RPM provides QoE analysis by automatically scanning all channels via post-set top box (STB) monitoring, logging and troubleshooting.
JDSU will also provide integration and customization of third party products as well as consulting, project management, product maintenance and training services.
By implementing the newest and most advanced technologies, STC is able to continuously upgrade its systems and introduce new and innovative services that fulfill the aspirations and expectations of its customers.
About Saudi Telecom
STC (Saudi Telecom) is the leading national telecommunications services provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. STC provides four key services: Home services which include PSTN, broadband DSL, Personal services which include mobile telephone services and value added services, Enterprise services which provide advanced business data solutions to enterprises and Wholesale services that provide network services to other local operators. In the recent years STC grew beyond its local borders and went global forming a network of business and investments in various Gulf countries, Asia, and Africa. The company is present in Kuwait, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, and South Africa enabling it to provide services to a bigger customer base and increasing its total number of customers externally by studying and evaluating investment opportunities. For more information, visit STC on the Internet:http://www.stc.com.sa/
About JDSU
JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU) (TSX: JDU) innovates and markets diverse technologies that enhance the way people experience the world every day. We enable fast, high-quality communications, secure financial transactions, reliable consumer electronics, green energy, differentiated brands and a host of other solutions. We provide these solutions through three business segments: Communications Test and Measurement, Communications and Commercial Optical Products, and Advanced Optical Technologies. To learn more about JDSU, please visit www.jdsu.com andwww.jdsu.tv and follow us on Twitter.
Zain Kuwait slashes call charges to Bangladesh
Zain Kuwait announced that it will be offering a 50% discount on all SMS messages to Bangladesh. the operator will also be offering a 20% discount on international calls to Bangladesh as they celebrate Independence Day on March 26.
The offer applies for one day only for both postpaid and prepaid customers.
Axiom Telecom and Samsung stage new product preview for UAE customers
Axiom Telecom and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a leading mobile phone provider, today staged their first ever Product Preview event together to reveal the new Samsung Galaxy Pro smartphone that will go on sale in the UAE during the second week of April 2011.
The preview is yet another initiative that strengthens the existing regional partnership between Samsung Electronics and Axiom Telecom. The two companies came together today to introduce the Samsung Galaxy Pro smartphone to select customers and media during a special demonstration.
During the event, select Axiom Telecom customers had the opportunity to experience live units of the new Samsung Galaxy Pro first hand and join discussions with representatives from both Samsung and Axiom Telecom about this latest Samsung smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy Pro is the latest user-friendly device from the company with a QWERTY keyboard and is powered by the Android Operating System that gives access to a vast array of applications. With advanced messaging, social networking capabilities and business solutions, the Samsung Galaxy Pro can handle both high business demands and the requirements of a very active social lifestyle.
“Axiom’s Telecom’s retail experience, reach and ability to bring new products first into the market complement with Samsung’s legacy of innovation, creative designs and constantly bringing new products that fit into consumers’ lifestyles in a meaningful way,” said Young Woo Jun, Director at Samsung Gulf Electronics.
Today’s session is in response to growing consumer demand to experience new phones and gain even more information before making a purchasing decision. This helps consumers to make the very best choice for their individual requirements in an increasingly complex, rapidly-moving and cluttered marketplace. Recognizing this need, Axiom Telecom is the first telecom retailer to offer such Product Previews and will continue to work with Samsung in the future to bring consumers the opportunity to experience tomorrow’s technology today.
This is particularly needed in the more sophisticated Smartphone sector, which Axiom Telecom explained has grown significantly since last year. “Our retail experience has shown the importance of high levels of knowledgeable staff to give customers guidance and the need for live phones and dedicated space within stores to allow customers to try-out products before purchase,” said Matthew Ramljak, Group Retail Manager at Axiom Telecom.
“Today’s event is part of our broader strategic partnership with Samsung and we look forward to supporting Samsung in bringing unique products, services and experiences to UAE consumers,” added Matthew Ramljak.
Currently Axiom Telecom provides specialized Samsung ‘Solution Bays’ across numerous Axiom Telecom retail outlets in the UAE. The Samsung Solution Bays will showcase the brand’s devices and demonstrate various mobile solutions such as navigation, music, email and messaging. In addition, Samsung will train in-store staff to provide customers with expert advice about Samsung’s offerings. Additionally, Axiom Telecom distributes Samsung’s wide range of mobile handsets and accessories across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Axiom Telecom currently has 900 retail points across the Middle East in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.
